Gill, despite amassing five centuries this year, has yet to make a significant impact on the World Cup stage, following his recovery from dengue, which caused him to miss the first couple of games.In his three appearances since returning, the elegant opener has posted scores of 26, 53, and 16.Having accumulated 1,325 runs and more in ODIs this year, Gill has shown promise in his innings but has struggled to convert his starts into substantial scores.
As India seeks to maintain their unbeaten streak in the tournament, there will be high expectations for Gill, particularly after his dismissal to a short and wide delivery against New Zealand in Dharamsala. Nevertheless, Gill has a penchant for facing the short ball and is eager to improve in this aspect.
The others who attended the optional nets session were Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav. Captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah stayed back in the team hotel after turning up on Thursday.
The team’s reserve opener Kishan too had a long hit. Like it was the case on Thursday, all the bowlers also spent a lot of time on their batting skills.
India have a long tail which has not been tested considering the stellar form of the specialists batters.
Shami, who took five wickets in his first game of the competition against New Zealand, batted after rolling his arm over while it was the other way around for Siraj.
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Pacer Shardul Thakur and team’s premier spinner Kuldeep too used their willow in hot conditions.
Towards the end of the session, head coach Rahul Dravid had a rather long look at the red soil pitch.
A part of the square has been relaid for the World Cup after Hardik Pandya called the surface for a T20 game against New Zealand earlier this year as a “shocker”.
(With PTI Inputs)
